Its campus was located mainly in Grenoble, with some facilities outside the city, in particular in Valence.

It was established in 1339 as part of University of Grenoble. In 1970 following a fate of many big French universities, University of Grenoble was separated into three specialized institutions – Pierre Mendès-France University (social science), Joseph Fourier University (science and technology), and Stendhal University (languages).

Starting 2013 there has been some movement towards reconciliation. Pierre Mendès-France University, two of its counterparts, and several other institutions reunited in the beginning of 2016 to restore the original university under the name of the Université Grenoble Alpes,[3] which is now alma mater for over 45 000 students.